


I Wanted To Kiss You Goodnight

by xxPrettyLittleTimeBombxx



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Mild Smut, Shirbert, Wedding Planning, but still just Anne and Gilbert being desperately in love with each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:54:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23169643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxPrettyLittleTimeBombxx/pseuds/xxPrettyLittleTimeBombxx
Summary: “I would have just let you in through the front door,” whispered Anne.“Where’s the fun in that?” Gilbert laughed. “Besides, I thought you’d like the idea of me climbing up the tree outside your window— it’s a bit more romantic, isn’t it?”OROn the eve of their wedding day, Gilbert gets the bright idea to sneak into Anne's room by climbing the tree outside her window-- and a steamy make out session (plus a bit more) ensues.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 28
Kudos: 290





	I Wanted To Kiss You Goodnight

**Author's Note:**

> Took a little break from my "Love Is A Mixtape" series to play around with something else.
> 
> I went back and forth over whether or not to post this. But things in the world are a bit intense right now so I figured that if I can offer anyone a little moment to escape with whatever it is I just wrote, then posting this will have been worth it.
> 
> Anyway, if slightly steamy/slightly smutty Shirbert is your jam, I got you-- enjoy! :D

Anne was covered in frosting when she felt them— a pair of strong arms wrapping themselves around her waist, which startled her into dropping the piping bag she’d been using to decorate the slew of cupcakes taking up a fair chunk of space on the kitchen table before her.

“Hello, Carrots,” said a voice right next to her ear.

Anne knew that voice. She spun around in disbelief, and suddenly, she found herself starring up into the warm hazel eyes she so often found herself daydreaming about over the course of the agonizing months they’d spent apart.

Sure, video chatting made things easier— but Anne had quickly discovered that no matter how far technology had come, the camera just couldn’t ever quite capture Gilbert Blythe or his twinkling eyes just right. And now, here he was, standing before her in the kitchen at Green Gables as though he’d never even left.

“What are you doing here?” She gasped once the shock of seeing had slightly worn off. “I thought you weren’t getting in until tomorrow!”

“Change of plans,” said Gilbert, mouth pulling into a wide grin that showed off the dimple on one of his cheeks.

“I don’t understand. I thought you said you had a final this afternoon— if I would have known I could have...you know what? I’ll just call Diana, there’s probably still time to cancel…” Anne said, her mind going a mile a minute.

“Don’t you dare call Diana— you know she’s been planning this wedding eve bridal shower thing for months. She’ll have my head if I let you cancel now,” Gilbert laughed. “As for that exam…I talked to my professor. May or may not have mentioned I had a very impatient fiancé waiting for me back home that I was desperate to get back to…”

Anne was only half listening to Gilbert’s explanation— she couldn’t help it. She was too engrossed in the way his gentle voice washed over her.

No amount of phone calls could compare to the way Gilbert’s voice sounded in real life. Standing this close, she could practically feel his chest vibrating as he prattled on about his final practical exam— the last one standing in the way of him and the medical school diploma he’d been working tirelessly for. The one his professor graciously let him take early, so he wouldn’t have to fly home on the morning of their wedding day.

No amount of photos could compare to how much physical space he took up standing before her in all his glory. No amount of trying to remember what his hands had felt like the last time he’d touched her could compare to the way the weight of them felt wrapped around her waist now— warm. Solid. Soft. Real. _Hers_.

Anne felt the pinprick of tears sting the back of her eyes as the realization of just how much she’d missed Gilbert suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks— every inch of him from his long fingers, still calloused over from the last time he’d come home to help Bash work the family farm, all the way up to very tips of his curly brown hair.

Gilbert paused mid sentence, taking in Anne’s watering eyes.

“Anne-girl, are you…crying?” He asked, eyebrows knotting together.

“No…” Anne lied badly.

“Don’t cry!” Gilbert said through an _aww,_ before drawing her closer.

“I’m not…” Anne said, head coming to rest against his chest.

She turned her face into his neck, nosing slightly against the opening of Gilbert’s shirt, breathing in his comfortingly familiar scent.

He whispered her name affectionately in return as his hands made soothing passes across her back.

“I missed you…” said Anne into his neck, so quietly she thought he might not have heard her at all.

“I know,” Gilbert said against her fiery red hair. “Me too.”

Distantly, Anne realized that she was probably making a right mess of Gilbert’s clothes between the state of her sticky hands and the apron she’d put on to bake for the bridal shower. At the moment though, she couldn’t bring herself to care enough to pull away.

“Don’t let go yet,” she said, voice coming out small.

Gilbert’s response was a warmly whispered “never,” breathed close to Anne’s ear, followed by a featherlight kiss dropped to the top of her head. The small affectionate act warmed Anne to the core, causing the flesh on her arms to pebble as a result.

She squeezed him tighter, relishing in the feel of their bodies pressed together. Thinking that if Gilbert was fine with it, she’d be happy to stay here just as they were, with their arms wrapped around each other forever.

When the prickling of tears threatening to spill at any moment finally subsided, Anne shifted her head again, this time so she could press what she thought had been a secret kiss to the center of Gilbert’s chest. It was more of a brush of lips than anything else. But she knew he'd felt it because of the way his fingers flexed against her, and she shivered as she felt his short nails digging into the soft flesh of her waist through the fabric of her sun dress.

“Better?” Gilbert asked when she finally pulled away.

Anne nodded, eyes roaming his face, an uncontrollable smile spreading across her lips.

“What?” He asked through a laugh, as though knowing there was more to the expression than she was letting on.

“I’m just happy you’re finally home,” Anne said. “And that I don’t have to watch you leave again.”

“That’s right, you’re stuck with me now…” said Gilbert, a hand coming up to cup her cheek.

“Lucky me…” Anne hummed as her gaze fell to his lips.

Gilbert’s eyes mirrored her motion before using the hand currently resting against her face to tilt her head up.

Anne’s heart fluttered away in her chest as their lips drew closer. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for the happy couple at the moment (or rather, one, Ruby Gillis did…)

“GILBERT BLYTHE, YOU GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE RIGHT NOW!”

Ruby’s hollering was enough for both Anne and Gilbert to jump back from each other just before their lips touched, startled by their friend’s sudden appearance.

“Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?!” continued Ruby.

“Doesn’t that only count on the actual wedding day?” asked Gilbert.

“Don’t mind Ruby,” said Diana, coming in behind the other girl with an arm full of bags. “She takes wedding traditions very seriously.”

Diana paused midway through clearing some space on the kitchen table Anne had been using as a workspace before Gilbert had come in and distracted her.

“Weren’t you supposed to be getting in tomorrow?” She asked, giving Gilbert a puzzled look.

“Change of plans,” he replied, eyes flicking back toward Anne. “Just couldn’t wait to get home.”

“Well, it’s nice to see you made it back alright,” said Diana. “Wedding superstitions aside though, I’m afraid we’re going to have to kick you out and keep Anne all to ourselves tonight.”

“Guess we’d better say goodbye,” said Gilbert quietly so only Anne could hear. “For one more night at least.”

Gilbert stepped closer and Anne thought he might kiss her now, but a curt clearing of the throat from Ruby, who was already standing by the door waiting to usher him out, was enough for both of them to think they’d better not push their luck.

Instead, Gilbert took Anne’s left hand in his, a soft smile tugging at his lips as he looked down at his mother’s ring sitting proudly on her fourth finger. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment as he dropped a kiss there, right over the stone.

“For one more night,” she whispered back, echoing his words from before. “Then it’ll only be _goodnight_.”

Anne was sorry to see Gilbert leave— their last stretch apart had been the shortest time they’d gone without seeing each other, but knowing the finish line was so close made it feel as though they’d been away from each other for much longer.

Luckily, she didn’t find herself with much time to miss him after he walked out the front door. Diana and Ruby wasted no time in pulling Anne right back into bridal shower preparations for that evening.

The rest of the night passed in a joyous blur as Anne found herself flanked by all of the wondrous women she was lucky to have in her life. And as Diana pressed another round of drinks into everyone’s hands, it suddenly dawned on Anne that she could think of no better way to spend her last night as an unmarried woman.

—

It was late when Anne finally made her way upstairs to her old bedroom, careful to skip over the loose floorboard right by Marilla’s room that always seemed to groan under the weight of footsteps.

Once inside, she changed into her pajamas before carefully removing the flower crown that had been adoring her head for the duration of the night’s party. She set the headpiece on her desk before moving toward the ajar closet where her wedding dress was hanging on a hook on the back of the door.

Anne took a a moment to admire the intricate beadwork of the bodice and the flowing layers of the gown, loving the way both worked together to give off an almost ethereal look. She’d lost track of how many dress shops she’d dragged Marilla and Diana to in order to find the perfect dress before her eyes finally settled on this one, tucked away in the back of a small boutique in Nova Scotia.

She had fallen in love with the dress on the spot. Now, Anne found herself hoping (not for the first time) that Gilbert would like it just as much when he finally saw her in it tomorrow.

A quiet tapping on her window pulled Anne from her thoughts. When she glanced over to see what was making the noise, she was surprised to see Gilbert staring back at her from beyond the glass, as though her thinking of him had caused him to magically materialize before her.

For a moment, Anne thought perhaps her mind had been playing tricks on her, but when she finally got the window opened, she knew there was no doubt about the fact that Gilbert Blythe had indeed been crazy enough to scale the old apple tree right outside her second story bedroom.

She was just about to ask him what he was doing there, but the ominous sound of a branch snapping found Anne quickly changing course.

“Gilbert Blythe, I swear to god if you break your neck before our wedding day I _will_ kill you,” she said.

“You know, now that I’m up here, I’m thinking this seemed like a better idea in theory,” he replied.

“Can you please just get in here before you fall?” Anne replied as she stepped back to give him space.

“As you wish.”

Gilbert made it into Anne’s room in one piece, though not as gracefully as he would have liked, and Anne winced as he tripped when the toe of one of his boots got caught on the window sill.

He grinned sheepishly up at her from where he was splayed on the hardwood floor, a dusting of apple blossoms he’d dragged in with him from the tree outside scattered around where he sat. Anne didn’t have time to berate him further though, for the sound of Marilla calling out to her from the bedroom next door was enough to make them both freeze.

“Everything alright in there, Anne?” came Marilla’s voice.

The sound of her mother’s footsteps had Gilbert diving under Anne’s bed faster than she could tell him to hide. She was grateful for his quick thinking— especially after Marilla poked her head in to make sure nothing was wrong.

“Everything’s fine! I just dropped some books on the floor,” she said motioning to the small stack of novels she kept on a shelf across from her bed. “You know how clumsy I can be.”

“Well, I’m glad to see it’s nothing serious— best close this and get to bed though,” said Marilla, moving across the room to close the window Gilbert had tumbled in just moments before. “Big day tomorrow!”

Anne let Marilla tuck her into bed, loving the fact that even though she’d long since outgrown the need for her to do so, Marilla still enjoyed going through the motions from to time.

“Sleep well,” said the older woman as she turned the light out and retreated to her own bedroom.

Anne called out “sweet dreams” in return, breathing a sigh of relief that Marilla hadn’t lingered.

Gilbert waited for a few moments after they both heard Marilla’s door shut from the hallway beyond before wriggling out from under Anne’s bed and coming to sit by her side on the mattress.

“You could have called— or texted you know— I would have just let you in through the front door,” whispered Anne as she sat up and propped herself against the pillows.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Gilbert laughed. “Besides, I thought you’d like the idea of me climbing up the tree outside your window— it’s a bit more romantic, isn’t it?”

“Not if you’d fallen out of it,” grumbled Anne. “So…to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well…I was thinking—“

“That sounds dangerous,” Anne joked, cutting him off.

“Shut it you,” said Gilbert, nudging playfully at her leg closest to him. “I was _thinking_ as I was getting ready for bed that Ruby and Diana kicked me out before I could kiss you goodbye.”

It was dark save for the faint glow of fairy lights Anne had hung behind her four poster bed when she’d been in high school, but she could still make out Gilbert’s warm hazel eyes as they roved over her face before trailing down momentarily to trace the lace trim on the tank top she’d put on to sleep in.

“I see…” Anne said, struggling to keep a straight face. “Well, far be it from me to grant you the closure you need to get a good night’s sleep.”

It was all the permission Gilbert needed to lean in and press a kiss to Anne’s waiting mouth. He pulled back slightly and the next words he spoke were accompanied by the lightest brush of his lips against hers.

“I’ve been thinking about kissing you all day…” he whispered, sending a shiver down Anne’s spine.

Anne said nothing in return. Instead, she let out a shaky breath before reaching out to pull him back in by his shirt. Gilbert went willingly, lips crashing over hers as he leant in closer, wasting no time in sucking her bottom lip between both of his before giving it a gentle nip. She couldn’t help the breathy sigh the action drew from her.

Suddenly, Anne was horizontal, unsure of whether it was because she’d pulled Gilbert down onto the bed with her or because he’d pressed her down into the mattress himself. She was so drunk off the taste of him after the months they’d spent apart she couldn’t bring herself to care how it had happened either way though— especially not now that his mouth had moved down to plant a searing open mouthed kiss to the hollow of her neck.

His name tumbling from Anne’s lips in a quiet whisper had Gilbert bringing his lips back up to meet hers, muffling his own soft moan by slotting their mouths together again. Meanwhile, Anne’s hands found their way into his thick brown hair— it was longer than the last time she’d seen him but she loved the way it accentuated his curls, and she loved the way it felt between her fingers.

“You can’t stay, Gil…” Anne said between kisses, making no move to actually push Gilbert away and usher him out the door.

They were facing each other now, legs tangled, hands softly roaming. Gilbert dropped a sweet kiss to her forehead, followed by one to the corner of her mouth, before he nosed his way up her jaw.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered, pressing a kiss just below her ear. “I’ll be gone before anyone gets up in the morning.”

Anne’s brain went fuzzy as he trailed wet kisses down her neck.

“What if we get caught?” She asked weakly. “You know Marilla’s a light sleeper…”

“We won’t,” Gilbert promised, licking a stripe down one collar bone.

Anne bit her lip to keep from making noise as he sucked a hard kiss just under the spot he’d licked, but she lost it when one of Gilbert’s hands skimmed its way down to her knee and hitched her leg up. She couldn’t help the moan that escaped when she felt his thigh brush against the apex of her legs.

“We’re going to have to stop if you can’t keep quiet— you don’t want to get caught do you?” He asked.

Anne squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a rattled breath before shaking her head vigorously. Gilbert waited until she opened her eyes again before carefully rolling them over so Anne was perched on top. She shuddered, head dropping to Gilbert’s shoulder, teeth biting down on the soft skin at the crook of his neck in an effort to stifle a whimper as her hips involuntarily hitched against the thigh that was still trapped between her legs.

Anne couldn’t see Gilbert’s face, but she could feel the effects her previous motions had had on him in the way his hands tightened their grip, and in the way his hips had jerked slightly in return. And she relished in the truth of knowing she wasn’t the only one who was slowly unraveling.

“Gilbert…” his name came out like a long, drawn out whisper trailing off into the darkness of her room.

“Do you want me to stop?” He asked breathless, hands stilling their gentle exploration, as though suddenly remembering they were in Anne’s childhood bedroom in a house full of people with paper thin walls.

Anne dropped a wet kiss to the spot on his neck she’d just assaulted and lifted her head so they were eye to eye. Her vision had adjusted to the darkness of the room enough so that she could just make out the outlines of his fuzzy features. Her brain filled in the rest of the details from memory as she lifted a hand to cup his face. Gilbert was perfectly still as her fingertips traced along his chiseled cheekbone before trailing over the light dusting of stubble just starting to come in again on his jawline.

She drew close then, whispering a fevered “don’t stop” against his mouth before slotting their lips together again. Gilbert didn’t need telling twice, kissing her back just as passionately, hands drawing up her waist and under her shirt to draw her close until she was flush against him. The move dragged Anne across his leg and she gave in, finally letting her hips move back and forth as she chased the friction she so desperately craved.

Gilbert hooked a hand under the knee Anne had trapped between his legs, and she took the hint, swinging it over so she could straddle him properly. The next time she dragged her hips forward, it was against the hard length of him and then it was Gilbert’s turn to stifle a whimper.

"God...you feel so good..." she gasped quietly against his mouth.

Gilbert didn’t trust himself to speak— too overcome by the vision of Anne above him chasing both of their pleasures. Instead he settled for meeting every roll of her hips with his own as his hands found purchase on her hips.

She was close— he could tell by the way her rhythm went erratic, hips moving restlessly as she chased the release just out of reach. Anne allowed a small whimper to pass through her parted lips then, followed by a string of half-formed sentences that she whispered quietly between them…

“ _Please_ —”

“I _can’t_ —”

“ _Oh god_ \--”

“I _need_ —”

She didn’t bother finishing any of them— she didn’t need to because Gilbert knew.

He shushed her quietly, holding her close with one hand as the other trailed down her body, slipping through the wide opening at the bottom of her shorts. And Anne watched as he bit his lip when his fingers made contact with her wet heat. He stroked her gently, long fingers rubbing expert circles across the sensitive flesh there until she came undone, body convulsing above him as he swallowed her moans with a deep kiss.

Anne’s body was worn, but she moved against him anyway, desperate to feel him unravel beneath her as she’d just done above him, drawing Gilbert’s hands back to her waist— urging him to help her hips along as they rocked back and forth over his own as she whispered half-formed filthy thoughts in his ear, wondering aloud if he could feel how wet she was through her shorts, if he knew it was his doing that had left her in that state.

He shot off like a rocket then, spurred on by her words, head buried between her breasts. Anne cradled his head there, fingers running through his curly mop, relishing in the way he held her still against him as he rode out his release, hips jerking up into hers.

When he finally lifted his head, Gilbert kissed Anne softly before depositing her neatly in the empty space on the bed next to him. From there, he made quick work of settling on his back, arranging their pliant bodies so Anne’s head was nestled in the crook of his arm, before pulling the discarded duvet over them.

“Have I told you lately how much I love you?” said Gilbert quietly once they were settled.

“Once or twice…but it never gets old,” Anne replied, snaking an arm across his middle.

“I love you, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert— more than I’ll ever be able to put into words,” whispered Gilbert.

“I love you more, Gilbert Blythe, and I can’t wait to marry you tomorrow,”she whispered in return. “But you _still_ can’t stay here…”

"M'not," he sighed, dropping a kiss to the crown of her head.

"I mean it Gil…” Anne said, fighting off the heaviness of her eyelids. “And make sure you leave through the front door this time? I don’t think that poor old apple tree can take another climb.”

Gilbert chuckled quietly, plucking her hand from where it rested at his waist, lacing their fingers together before bringing them up so he could brush a kiss against her knuckles.

“Go to sleep, Anne-girl. I’ll be gone before anyone wakes up tomorrow,” Gilbert promised.

Anne fought the losing battle with her eyelids then, drifting off into a peaceful sleep, head pressed to his chest— lulled by the sound of Gilbert’s strong and steady heart beating away beneath his ribcage like a strange and beautiful lullaby playing just for her.

When she woke the next day in bed all by herself, Anne would have bet money on the fact that Gilbert’s sudden appearance late last night must have been a glorious champagne-induced dream— were it not for the trail of apple blossoms leading from her window to the bed, and a simple note on her nightstand that read: “I can’t wait to kiss you _goodnight_ instead of goodbye.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo...thats a thing I wrote tonight! I can't remember the last time I worked on anything remotely steamy so this was definitely stepping a bit out of my comfort zone. With that in mind, I hope it was enjoyable to read!
> 
> As always, thank you in advance if you are kind enough to leave kudos or comments because it truly means a lot!
> 
> Just a few general notes about the fic for anyone who's curious before I run off!
> 
> 1) I imagine Anne and Gilbert to be about 26/27 if you're curious about age  
> 2) It's Modern AU because that's just how I imagined it in my head. But honestly, save for a few references to technology, I feel like it could probably pass for just about any era  
> 3) Is setting a wedding date for the day after Gilbert finishes exams unrealistic? YES. Did I do it anyway? ALSO YES! I just imagined them being so desperate to start their forever after eight years of not living in the same city that Anne would have insisted on picking the first possible date for the wedding that she could swing, and Gilbert just went along with it (because of course he would)


End file.
